WHAT THE GEESE TALKED OF

[99]

O

N the morning of the next day Maid-alone went into the
goose-shelter, and the two-score geese when they saw
her amongst them stretched up their necks, shook out
their wings, and set up their goose-gabble. She had
the rod of the goose-herd in her hand and she drove
them out, setting the ganders marching at the heads of
their companies.

She took them to the marsh, and she waited till they
had all settled down to feed, leaving a gander to watch
and ward for them. Then she hurried from the marsh and
went
[100] to the hollow tree where her dresses were hidden; she
took off her Crow-feather Cloak and she put on the
first of her fine dresses, the glittering dress of
bronze, with the gleaming shoes and the glittering
veil.

She hung up the Crow-feather Cloak on the peg that the
first of her fine dresses had been on. Then she went
back to the swamp where the geese were feeding. The
watcher and the warder for the flock saw her coming and
he set up his cry. The other geese looked up and saw
her. They stretched up their necks and they shook out
their wings, and they cackled and clamoured and crowded
around her. And whether she sat down on the stump of a
tree or walked about in the sunlight, the geese crowded
round or followed her.

No goose fed, and no gander kept watch or ward. Their
necks were stretched up all the time she was there in
her gleaming dress, with her glittering veil and
gleaming shoes. And one goose kept
[101] saying that she was like a beautiful poplar tree, and
another that she was like a shining water-lily. And an
old goose kept saying that she was like Helen of Greece
and her grandmother had told her about, Helen of Greece
who was born out of a Swan's egg.

So the geese kept on talking with their neck stretched
up. They neither fed nor kept watch from the time she
came amongst them in her bronze dress. And when it was
near sunset, Maid-alone turned to go to the hollow tree
to leave back the first of her fine dresses and put on
the Crow-feather Cloak. The geese followed her. She
ran ahead of the flock, and she had the bronze dress
off and the Crow-feather Cloak on before they came to
where she was standing at the hollow tree. She drove
them back to the goose-shelter, and they went on with
their heads held high, telling of the wondrous maiden
they had seen in the marsh. And one kept saying that
she was like a beautiful poplar tree, and another kept
saying that she was like a shining water-lily. But the
oldest of the geese kept saying that she was like
[102] Helen of Greece that her grandmother had told her
about, Helen of Greece who was born out of a Swan's
egg.

Hundreds of additional titles available for
online reading when you join Gateway to the Classics